This is a segment that I produced, wrote, and filmed for Koug-TV.
How Suspiria Terrorizes the Audience With Cinematography
Watching Dario Argento’s Suspiria is a journey. The plot is relatively simple, however, the cinematography works in conjunction with the sound and editing to provoke fear and confusion in viewers. This movie is not good due to its plot; it is good because of how well made it is. Argento takes you down a dark path in this film, where you can’t tear your eyes away, and one of the main factors that contribute to that is the cinematography, making the film so visually interesting and symbolic.
The first shot that I chose is the opening shot, which goes on from 1:25 to 1:38.
It starts out by showing the flight times, then moves diagonally towards the bottom right to show the passengers exiting the airport. Suzy is among them, and until it cuts away to her there is nothing to show that she is our main character.
Already, we can see the use of color in the film, the saturated reds, and greens. Red is also a very important color in the film that appears a lot. The saturated colors offer an immediate shock – this is the opening scene of the movie and already it does not look like the world we know. The movement in this shot is slow, giving us no reason to panic so far. It is a wide shot, establishing where Suzy is coming from, which is not here. Just like Suzy is arriving in this town, we are arriving at this movie.
The second shot that I chose is a relatively long shot, going on from 0:05:46 to 0:06:23.
It starts out with the cab framed in the left foreground, the door to the dancing institution in the right background. Then, the camera moves to the right, and the car moves out of sight, moving the focus more to the door, the new girl in it, and our main character going there with her things.
There is more red in this scene. The aggressive red we see here on the outside of the building appears again in the dancing room, “the red room,” the wine, and most importantly, the blood of the victims. Because of this very saturated red, and other very saturated colors we see in this movie, it feels very stylized. Another color we see used here is white – Suzy is wearing white, symbolizing her innocence, coming to the school, knowing nothing, and murder hasn’t happened yet. The framing of Suzy and the girl in the door ensures that the frame is filled up, and the girl talking to someone off-screen at the same time that Suzy is getting her things together out of the cab to go inside. This is clever because it keeps it visually interesting, and we are experiencing it the same way Suzy is – something important is happening, but she cannot directly focus on it, just as the shot is not directly focused on it. The camera continues moving right, slowly zooming in to completely focus on the door as Suzy gets there and the other girl runs away. We end up with this shot:
Throughout this whole shot, the movement is focused around Suzy, following her. She is the main character, and the cinematography gives us that impression and establishes that even further with this. The other girl is there in the literal background, a side story that is soon to end with a murder.
It seems the director Argento likes to use slow, drawn-out, moving shots in multiple places in his film. Another place this shot is used is in the first murder scene when the camera shows us the victim hung up, and then a shot of below the wait, blood dripping, camera moving down and then left to show the friend who is impaled. This draws us in as we are waiting to see where the camera will go next, what it will show us, and can also serve to make the film feel more natural. I also think it provides a juxtaposition to when murders or other shocking things are happening and we have short scenes, little movement, and quick hard cuts. All in all, Suspiria is a film that utilizes its cinematography incredibly well to draw in the audience and get a reaction out of them.
Mis-en-scene in Rashomon
I chose the film Rashomon to write on its use of mis-en-scène. The first shot that I would like to write about is this scene at 4:20.
This building they are in, Rashomon, is introduced immediately and we come back to it throughout the film, so it is very important. The setting is this old, falling apart, wooden building or temple in the rain. The rain is important because it adds to the dreary mood (the rain is actually dyed black) and it is also the situation that is forcing these characters together because they are taking shelter from it. The state of the building, clearly falling apart, the commoner even ripping wood off the walls to feed their fire at one point, adds to this darker mood. The dyed rain makes for a small stylized effect, but the rest of the setting is less stylized. The commoner’s pants are ripped, the priest has old-looking robes, and the other man does not have the best clothing either. This insinuates that none of them are very wealthy, and some of them are pretty bad off. This shot has softer lighting, but it is not the softest. I also think it can be harder to tell in black and white films. Shadows of characters and the building are clearly visible. For the two characters sitting, this is frontal lighting, which ends up lighting the commoner from behind (also making his shadow very clear) before he sits down with them. The lighting looks more natural. The performances are relatively realistic, with only the priest possibly exaggerating a bit with his horrible musings about what it all means. The actors are all coming pretty close together, creating a relationship that they are in to hear this story out and think about it altogether. This shot employs more deep space, as everything in the background is also in focus. I believe this may be to emphasize the depth of the different stories we are about to hear, it is not simple and they are reinforcing that.
The next scene I chose was this shot at 31:15.
When I first saw this scene, it greatly intrigued me because of the shot that is cut in with this, of the sun through the trees overhead, originally whirling and then still. I will write about that shot as well as the one I have shown here since they go together. The lighting in this shot is hard and low-key, as we can very clearly see the deep shadows across the woman’s face. The woman’s eyes are clearly looking above, so when we see the intercut shot of the sun through the trees, it is implied that it is from her perspective, looking up. The bandit is clearly forcing himself upon her, and in the sun through the trees short, it is whirling around, the camera spinning, perhaps showing her disorientation. In this shot, we can see her looking up as her looking away and dissociating, further supported by the final sun/trees shot where it just appears to move in and out of focus. She doesn’t want to think about what is happening, her personal space being invaded, her body being violated, so she looks away and tries her best to distract herself.
“The Prestige: Hiding In Plain Sight” Video Essay Notes
- A theme that is seen throughout all of Christopher Nolan’s movies is that cinema as a shared narrative can be a hugely powerful cultural force
- Many of his films reference film itself
- In Inception, the crew resembles a film crew
- Many of his films could be called meta cinematic, but he is very careful about avoiding meta cinematic images in his work
- For example, in Batman Begins, Nolan chose to have Bruce and his parents go see the opera before his parents are murdered, instead of going to see a movie (Zorro) like in the original comic books
- Christopher Nolan: “We didn’t have young Bruce going to see Zorro because a character in a movie watching a movie is very different than a character in a comic book watching a movie…it creates a deconstructionist thing that we are trying to avoid.”
- Over and above everything, his cinema is immersive
- He walks the line between being immersive and meta cinematic
- He hides in plain sight
- For example, in Batman Begins, Nolan chose to have Bruce and his parents go see the opera before his parents are murdered, instead of going to see a movie (Zorro) like in the original comic books
- Many of his films reference film itself
- The Prestige exemplifies Nolan walking the line perfectly between being immersive and meta cinematic
- For example, the opening scene, which is a title card (The Prestige) over a ton of top hats laying around that look the same
- If you already know this movie, the title card serves a literal function as well, as the top hats are literally the prestige
- The other symbolism is in the number of hats, all identical, duplicates, multiplicity, further reinforced by the next scene of all identical yellow canary birds, a key to understanding this film and its tricks
- Michael Cane does a voiceover of this scene explaining the three steps of a magic trick, the pledge, the turn, and finally, the prestige
- This sets up the movie’s structure
- Where is Michael Cane’s voice coming from? He is not narrating, and it’s not an inner monologue, and then after flashes of scenes from the future, he picks up the last line in a courtroom as if the whole voiceover was actually a testimony
- But, this bird scene is actually the last scene of the entire movie
- Nolan reverses the temporal relationship between the voiceover and the scene under it, and this kind of displacement is the key mechanism for the whole movie
- The Prestige is all about a trick that moves an object through time and space instantaneously
- This is what film editing does, cutting between short distances and continuous times
- Nolan has described learning the power of this by watching Terrence Malic’s The Thin Red Line, where Malic cuts to memories simply without blurs or wavy lines or any effects, and the powerful effect this can have on the viewer
- Nolan exploits this power to the fullest, cutting between multiple different nested memories, setting up those devices with the two journals, but once those are established, he cuts between them at will and without warning
- The complex narrative structure is totally subservient to the story Nolan wants to tell, it is necessary to keep the twist and turns unknown
- Even after Nolan has given us all the clues, we remain at his mercy until the final scene
- Note: We remain at his mercy even beyond the final scene, as the “real” ending or the real interpretation of the ending of some of his movies like The Prestige and Inception is widely debated.
- Michael Cane does a voiceover of this scene explaining the three steps of a magic trick, the pledge, the turn, and finally, the prestige
- For example, the opening scene, which is a title card (The Prestige) over a ton of top hats laying around that look the same
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Video Essays
- Before, Falcon and the Winter Soldier have both been sidekick characters to Steve Rogers (Captain America)
- Surprising how head-on the story is on confronting racism
- Theme of tradition vs change
- Captain America’s shield, what it symbolizes, and what it means to different people plays heavily into this theme
- When Sam (Falcon) comes face to face with Isaiah Bradley we come face to face with what the shield can mean
- His backstory eerily familiar, mirroring Steve’s
- He defied his higher ups to go save his comrades
- But unlike Steve, who was heralded as a war hero and went on to fight in World War II, Isaiah was thrown into jail and experimented on for 30 years, before a nurse took pity on him and he escaped, being pronounced and thought dead, his story long forgotten and never told
- A prime example of black erasure
- Isaiah believes racism is systemic and there is not much that can be done, and asks why should someone become a symbol for a country that has never done anything for them
- “They will never let a black man become Captain America, and even if they did, no self-respecting black man would ever want to be.”
- Note: To me watching this series, I really loved this quote and what I saw in it was a good reflection of the real world. Police brutality is still rampant in America, and this echoes how you don’t want to support a corrupt institution. Sure, as a black person, you can become a cop and be a “good cop” yourself, but you are supporting a bad institution that allows brutality to happen, and you can’t change it all by yourself. We have seen black police chiefs step down when their officers commit police brutality, because they know as a police chief they must defend them, but as a human being with their own morals, they can’t defend them with a good conscience, and that’s not what they believe, so stepping down is the only option.
- I believe this show avoided that controversy a bit by having Sam be a self-proclaimed Captain America, the government did not appoint him, and he still has his falcon wings and is doing it his own way. We even see him get Isaiah’s approval.
- Disclaimer: this is not to say that no black person should ever become a police officer, and there’s no easy answer to a lot of these questions. I’m just stating what I’ve seen and how this show reflects that
- Note: To me watching this series, I really loved this quote and what I saw in it was a good reflection of the real world. Police brutality is still rampant in America, and this echoes how you don’t want to support a corrupt institution. Sure, as a black person, you can become a cop and be a “good cop” yourself, but you are supporting a bad institution that allows brutality to happen, and you can’t change it all by yourself. We have seen black police chiefs step down when their officers commit police brutality, because they know as a police chief they must defend them, but as a human being with their own morals, they can’t defend them with a good conscience, and that’s not what they believe, so stepping down is the only option.
- Sam resonates with what Isaiah is saying, and recognizes if he went through what Isaiah went through, he may feel the same, but chooses to have a hopeful optimism about the future.
- “They will never let a black man become Captain America, and even if they did, no self-respecting black man would ever want to be.”
- His backstory eerily familiar, mirroring Steve’s
- At the beginning, after debating what to do with the shield, Sam gives it to the museum of Captain America and gives a speech
- “Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning, and this thing…(picks up the shield) I don’t know if there’s ever been a greater symbol.”
- Sam is having his own internal battle with what the shield represents to him
- To him, Steve was the symbol, not the shield
- Shield was simply branding for a man who gave it meaning with his ideals and heroism and genuine caring for every life, not just his own
- He knows what the the shield represents to African Americans like Isaiah and is scared of changing this symbol, taking it up himself, and giving it new meaning
- Without Steve, the shield means something completely different until someone takes it up and puts their own ideals into it, like him
- To him, Steve was the symbol, not the shield
- The government decides they have other plans for the shield than a museum and quickly appoints a new Captain America: John Walker
- Sam serves as an idea of change throughout the show, John Walker serves a symbol of tradition, the blond haired, blue-eyed Captain America the world is used to, just maybe lacking in the morals department a little
- John serves as an anti-Steve, he has won medals of honor but lacks the morals Steve had
- “Steve stood for always doing the morally right thing, but now that the ideals behind the shield are no longer present, the morals held by the country the shield represents are less clear-cut, and often more violent, not to mention the obvious lack of white in his costume.”
- White in the american flag (and often in general) is symbolic of purity and innocence
- Red and blue symbolize valor and justice
- This color choice hints that John Walker will do whatever it takes to achieve “peace” and justice even through compromising means
- This is furthered when he gets his new costume at the end which is the same but black, furthering the idea of tradition
- But, in doing so, they have not only lost all purity and innocence (white), they have turned it into a symbol of despair and darkness (black)
- Walker is so far integrated with the government that his ideals are non-existent
- The flag smashers represent globalization of the world, Walker represents pro-nationalism, being used as a publicity stunt to channel the thoughts of the leaders in control of him
- When Walker literally gets blood on the shield by bludgeoning a man to death, the US strips him of his title
- The question remains whether he would have been punished if the incident didn’t happen in broad daylight
- Note: in the courtroom scene where they are stripping him of his title and he is trying to defend himself, he tells them that they made him, which I think furthers this point, and I really appreciated that one line. The government shaped John Walker to be who he was, they gave medals of honor for doing horrific things in war, they exposed him to brutality and let it happen. He is a product of his environment, the environment that the US government brought him into and cultivated. Then, they selected him as the new Captain America because he was a poster child for the US, and they could control him as the new symbol.
- Interestingly enough, when John is under no-one’s control, this is when we see him choose to save a truck of people instead of going after Carly (who killed his friend earlier in the series)
- This furthers the idea that Steve was the morals behind the shield, the man making the decisions for the most part for John is the government, who only seem to be working for their own self interest
- Left to his own devices, John makes a better decision (saving the truck)
- At the end, we see Walker end up in the hands of yet another crook leader, as his desire to be recognized and be greater takes over
- The question remains whether he would have been punished if the incident didn’t happen in broad daylight
- Walker represents exactly what Zemo feared; a morally corrupt man who has a complete desire for power, wherever it takes him
- Zemo: “a desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals”
- “Steve stood for always doing the morally right thing, but now that the ideals behind the shield are no longer present, the morals held by the country the shield represents are less clear-cut, and often more violent, not to mention the obvious lack of white in his costume.”
- Interesting to re-contextualize John as symbolizing white supremacy/racial supremacist ideals up until he takes the serum
- John is surrounded by supportive people of color in his life, his wife and his best friend both supportive his uptake of the mantle of Captain America
- Yet, especially with Lamar, the best friend, he is there as a sidekick to John’s story, there to motivate John’s actions
- Even Lamar’s death is the reason John is provoked into brutality publicly murdering someone
- Yet, especially with Lamar, the best friend, he is there as a sidekick to John’s story, there to motivate John’s actions
- John becoming Captain America and getting the serum is also the result of two black men
- Sam giving the shield to a museum, which eventually makes it into his hands
- The serum is a direct result of the testing done on Isaiah
- John is surrounded by supportive people of color in his life, his wife and his best friend both supportive his uptake of the mantle of Captain America
- This is why it means so much for Sam to take up the mantle of Captain America, to be a symbol of change, to take up a piece of imagery that is so saturated with history, and to be giving it a new definition
- Sam’s whole arc through the show is his philosophy that things can get better, and will get better, and he can be a positive force of change to help that
- Sam hasn’t had the serum, and represents the ordinary man, but someone who chooses to stand up and fight for what is right
There is one shot I would like to talk about, that I can’t seem to find or get into this post, but it is Falcon, the new new Captain America in his new hybrid costume, descending from the sky like an angel carrying Carly’s body. Sam didn’t want Carly to die, and he wasn’t who killed her. This shot evokes a sadness that we feel from him, that she had to die. It also frames him like an angel, which is symbolic for how he tried to guide Carly, and talk to her, and sway her away from the path of killing people to get what she wanted. This also furthers the point of purity and innocence, with the comparison to an angel, the majority of Sam’s costume being white, and his sadness for Carly, who wasn’t a full grown adult, the purity and innocence of children.
- The most interesting part of it is the topics that it deals with like power and accountability
- Good things the show does
- Places emphasis on the shield as a symbol and who could be the next Captain America
- John Walker creates the potential for the deconstruction of a superhero
- Bad things
- Plot points left unexplained, felt like they tried to fit a 6-hour movie into TV episodes
- Good ideas but bad execution
- John Walker slowly eroded into a villain, good chance to have a dark Steve Rogers and critique the idea of a military-backed superhero
- But he is redeemed in the finale and becomes a sort of anti-hero
- A lot of promises and references with no payoff
- Sharon is now a villain, the power broker, and it isn’t really explained at all besides her being left adrift by the US government
- John Walker slowly eroded into a villain, good chance to have a dark Steve Rogers and critique the idea of a military-backed superhero
- The lost development means we don’t care enough about Falcon or The Winter Soldier
- It is the same for Zemo and the flagsmashers/Carly
- Thematically, it is high-reaching but doesn’t deliver
- Most prominent theme refugees
- Carly is the culmination of this
- Carly and the flagsmashers are refugees from the blip
- While they have a lot in common with many other refugees, we can compare them specifically to the refugees from World War I
- In history, these people found themselves stripped of legal protection in their own homes, while also being denied protections in their new homes
- Some were literally better off committing crimes because a criminal had some rights where a stateless person had none
- The French migrant workers were relied on for crops and other things, but kicked out and mixed with refugees once they were no longer needed
- This is spot on, as countries welcomed everyone to come together and help rebuild during the blip and then forced them out
- In history, these people found themselves stripped of legal protection in their own homes, while also being denied protections in their new homes
- While they have a lot in common with many other refugees, we can compare them specifically to the refugees from World War I
- The show wants us to examine the law, and what it means for Americans to be running around as world police
- John Walker and his partner essentially spy on falcon using his tech as his tech is government property and they are the government
- Even though John Walker and his partner are literally military, the fights they have are not considered war and considered more like policing
- John Walker decided Bucky doesn’t need court-mandated therapy and gets him out of it
- John Walker kills the refugee civilian and the whole theme of the state of exception is that he shouldn’t have the power to do that
- The difference between good Captain America and bad Captain America is the ethics behind the person who holds the shield
- John Walker is punished for killing that person but his argument is that he is no different from the larger organization
- “I only ever did what you asked of me, what you told me to be, and trained me to do, and I did it, and I did it well”
- The question is posed of whether John lost his job because he actually did what he did, or because it became a PR nightmare
- “I only ever did what you asked of me, what you told me to be, and trained me to do, and I did it, and I did it well”
- Connection to Nazi Germany
- Their philosophy is that the law is suspended so anything goes
- Prominent scenes take place in front of stained glass windows in the shape of stars of David
- One of the flagsmashers mentions his family’s connection to being Jews in Nazi Germany
- Zemo links super soldier ideology to supremacy
- “that warped aspiration that lead to Nazis”
- This vaguely defined supremacist idealogy is the creation of a being to lord over other beings, to enforce the law, or suspend it based on their own judgment
- Very related to Isaiah, who is an African American super-soldier who was stripped of his rights and experimented on
- He comes to learn what violence outside the law means in the figure of the KKK
- “The famous 332 fight for this country only to come home to find crosses burn on their lawn”
- The government erases his story once he becomes a problem
- Isaiah talking to Sam: “You want to believe jail was my fault because you got that white man’s shield. They were worried my story might get out, so they erased me. My history. But they been doing that for 500 years.”
- He comes to learn what violence outside the law means in the figure of the KKK
- Very related to Isaiah, who is an African American super-soldier who was stripped of his rights and experimented on
- By the end of the series, Sam accepts the mantle of Captain America and tries to distance himself from some of the symbols troubled history
- He even speaks up on behalf of refugees
- Sam speaking to the GRC: “You have to stop calling them terrorists.”
- GRC: “What else would we call them?”
- Sam: “Your peacekeeping troops carrying weapons are forcing millions of people into settlements around the world, right? What do you think those people are going to call you?”
- Sam speaking to the GRC: “You have to stop calling them terrorists.”
- The show is trying to tell us that things are different and that Sam is a more compassionate Captain America
- But, is the question really us doing better? Or is it the very system where the exception has become the rule, where anything is possible outside the law? And that does not seem to have changed.
- He even speaks up on behalf of refugees
Wanda Vision Video Essays
- Goes beyond being “just” a superhero show and tells a tale of grief
- In the MCU it was clear she was reaching a breaking point with all she has had to deal with
- Wanda isn’t a bad person and all her choices, while misguided, come from a well-intentioned place
- Having to kill Vision in Infinity War, only for it to be useless and have to watch him die again, was her breaking point
- Her trauma takes her over and she creates an idealized place, not fully intentionally, where she and Vision can live happily ever after
- Vision starts the series out as an innocent bystander, but then gains more agency and Wanda must pull more and more tricks to try and deceive him
- Interesting parallel between Monica and Wanda since they’re both battling trauma and have thrown themselves into something else to ignore their pain (Monica throws herself into work at SWORD to ignore her mother’s death).
- Monica is able to see both sides of the situation and sympathizes with Wanda due to her own grief, unlike most people
- Trauma makes remembering hurt so much that a person is unable to communicate their pain
- When Agatha takes Wanda through her own most traumatic memories her denial begins to crumble, her blissful ignorance breaking down
- Wanda puts herself in a sitcom world because sitcoms have been the only real constant in her life
- She connected with her family over TV, a TV was all she had when being tested on by hydra
- There is a scene in one of the movies where Wanda explains to Vision that in a sitcom, the main character is not really injured even though the roof has fallen on him
- She wants this world where no one is hurt
Short summary: Wanda Vision goes beyond a normal superhero stories and deals with important things like grief, trauma, and empathy. It shows us her trauma and how she tries to erase it by creating a world where no one is ever really hurt.
- From the beginning, hooked on bizarre mysterious sitcom universe where we don’t really know what is going on
- Funny sitcom on their relationship but with mysterious creepy bits occasionally, hints that something is wrong
- Once we hit episode 4, a bit disappointing
- Characters weren’t bad, but felt the mystery was a bit cooler than the actual reveals
- Cutting back and forth between the sitcom and real world made it feel less unique
- Unlike most people, okay with quicksilver’s lack of payoff in the show
- Once Wanda expands her barrier, it felt very stilted and unfunny and uneventful by the shows standards
- Episode 8 picks back up again, really liked the series of flashbacks of Wanda’s trauma
- After that, felt like everything cool about the show was gone now, and realized wasn’t that interested in seeing how this present conflict (with SWORD and Wanda) played out
- Episode 9 (final episode)
- “Worst episode in the show by a landslide”
- Liked Vision’s conversation with Vision, when Wanda is confronted by the townspeople, and her saying goodbye to Vision and her kids
- Editing choppy, CGI bad
- A show this unique shouldn’t have ended with a giant CGI battle
- Feel like Wonder Women’s finale: completely unjustified and stupid based on what came before it
- Something like Dr. Strange’s finale would’ve worked better
- All the sitcom elements gone
- Cool to see something in the MCU that wasn’t overtly superhero-esque
- Overall good entertaining show but with some sloppiness in storytelling, and could use less scenes in the outside world
Short summary: Liked the elements of the show that were not typical superhero, and was disappointed when those elements went away and it went back to the traditional.
What Makes a Movie “Good”? Cherry Reviews
- “Really wasn’t my cup of tea”
- Tom Holland did really good
- Believes the fault to be in the Russo Brothers
- Style “flashy, in your face, self indulgent”
- Narration “absolutely tanks this movie for me”
- Very on the nose explanatory
- Example: Tom Holland calls a friend (a character we have seen before and know) to help him get a safe open and he narrates “I called my buddy since he used to work for a locksmith”
- Lazy
- Voice-over does not enhance the film in a way that couldn’t be communicated visually
- Things to admire
- Performances are really strong for the most part
- Russo Brothers are taking risks even if they don’t pay off
- Doing something different from their superhero movies
- Theme
- Mixed; not clear
- Small theme of America not treating their veterans right but barely and reinforced by narration which is not emotional for the viewer, we are just being told
- Too many different approaches to theme, would get interesting and then backtrack
- “Twisted love story that centers around addiction and breaking a toxic cycle”
- Cross between Forest Gump and Requiem For A Dream
- Got very mixed reviews
- One of the biggest criticisms of it that Tom Holland was miscast as a bank robber
- Personally believes this is the point; that even a good kid can get mixed up in bad things
- I personally agree, Tom Holland isn’t supposed to be a stereotypical bank robber, and in the film we see he’s insecure and not sure of himself, and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone robbing banks
- Personally believes this is the point; that even a good kid can get mixed up in bad things
- Tom Holland gives great performance
- Criticism
- Don’t see what Nico (Tom Holland) sees in his girlfriend
- She is cold, says “Thank you” when he tells her he loves her, then tries to leave as she is spooked by that admission
- Don’t see what Nico (Tom Holland) sees in his girlfriend
Film Pitch for Class Final
Notes on Anatomy of a Scene: Memento
Notes on Anatomy of a Scene: Memento, A Sundance channel original production
- “Memento is a psychological thriller based on the idea that the protagonist can’t make new memories (Director)”
- Memento plays forwards and backward at the same time
- The murder is shown in the first scene of the film
- A balance of intriguing them and confusing them, but giving them enough time to process and connect the pieces
- If you withhold the information from the audience that is withheld from the protagonist, it does a good job of putting yourself in their shoes
- The structure of the film has alternating color and black and white sequences
- The color sections us, sequence by sequence, back in time
- Black and white sequences move more or less forwards in time
- The color scenes always end at the beginning of the previous color scene
- The structure is exhibited in the first three scenes
- The opening shot is a polaroid fading to white as it’s shaking, which is the opposite of what would actually happen, the polaroid is un-developing
- The next few shots are in reverse but don’t have much reverse action in them, it’s just clear that something is off, and then as that scene ends, which is the scene of Leonard killing Teddy in reverse, it’s clear that reverse action, or time being weird, is a part of the vocabulary in this film
- Leonard killing Teddy in reverse was a way for it to not be too gory or bloody, we see close up shots of blood receding backward, we see Teddy’s fallen off glasses go back onto his face, and we see the gun fly into Leonard’s hand as he shoots Teddy, and the scene ends as we hear the gunshot
- Then we move onto a black and white scene
- The first few shots are close-ups, disorienting, we are being told by the narration where we are but we’re still disoriented and unsure
- The narration sounds unsure
- The third scene, color again, precedes the first scene
- It’s more tangible
- Casting
- Leonard as a character was quite ambiguous on the page, he doesn’t know how old he is due to his condition, etc.
- Because of how the film is, and how information is withheld from us, first impressions were even more important than usual, so casting was important
- It was important to cast Teddy as someone with a little bit of humor, to cast a little lightness on the film
- Production Design
- Creating a world in which the main character has limited information
- The palette of colors is blues, whites, grays, a realistic looking palette, so the world looks like we know it, but we don’t have much information at all
- Classic film noir of having a setting in an ordinary reality
- The realistic and ordinary setting is ambiguous, does not give us many clues
- Finding and designing the building where Teddy was killed so that it was very recognizable, so when we went back there and saw it in black and white it was clear where it was
- Wanting it to be anonymous but to have textural details
- A lot of over the shoulder shots, the camera always sticking with Leonard in some way
- Wanted a natural look with natural lighting
- A higher angle looking down on Leonard in the black and white scenes suggested more of an objective perspective
- Editing
- Every scene connects in a linear way, so every scene is crucial
- To guide the audience, shots used at the beginning of one color sequence are shown again at the end of the next
- None of the sounds are backward, they’re all forward sounds that have been editing to work with the reverse action
- The black and white scenes are made to seem like a documentary, with the voice-over, shots, and editing
- The line where Teddy says “You don’t have a clue, you freak” the actor never nailed so Christopher Nolan did it himself
- The score
- Giving sound to Leonard’s moods
- Specific sounds to differentiate between black and white scenes and color scenes
- Subliminal sounds, not that noticeable
- The emotions of a character who feels things without really knowing why
- Music that suggests sadness and melancholy with no explanation
- Unreliable narrator
- Manipulated point of view
- The ending wraps up the movie and leaves people to dissect the truth of what happened, we are slowly given more and more information until we get all the information we want in the end
Film Analysis: Knives Out
Summary
I chose to analyze Knives Out because I know it well and own it, and have been interested in it for a while. I have seen a couple video essays on it, and think it’s a great film with a great cast.
Major spoiler warning for this movie. Do not continue reading if you are interested in watching it.
Film Analysis
| Film Title |
Knives Out |
| Year | 2019 |
| Director |
Rian Johnson |
| Country |
USA |
| Genre | Comedy, Crime, Drama |
| If you could work on this film (change it), what would you change and why? | I would replace the small opening shot, that shows the house, has dramatic music and shows the dogs running across the yard in slow motion. I would keep the music, but change this one shot because I think it feels a bit out of place. I also would replace, or eliminate, the shots of some of the random things in Harlan’s house, like the masks, and dolls, because I don’t feel it contributes to anything. |
As you view films, consider how the cuts, camera angles, shots, and movement work to create particular meanings. Think about how they establish space, privilege certain characters, suggest relationships, and emphasize themes. In addition to shot distances, angles, editing, and camera movement, note details of the narrative, setting, characters, lighting, props, costume, tone, and sound.
Ask yourself the following questions:
| TOPIC | YOUR NOTES |
| 1. Who is the protagonist? | Marta Cabrera |
| 2. Who is the antagonist? | Ransom Drysdale, the entire Thrombey family |
| 3. What is the conflict? | Who killed Harlan Thrombey and how will they get away with it? |
| 4. What is the theme or central, unifying concept? (summarize in one or two words) | Family drama, justice |
| 5. How is the story told (linear, non-linear, with flashbacks, flash-forwards, at regular intervals) | Linear with flashbacks |
| 6. What “happens” in the plot (Brief description)? | Harlan Thrombey, a father and grandfather, is discovered dead with a slit throat. The police believe it is a suicide, but they continue investigating with a private investigator who was anonymously hired. Harlan died the night of his 85th birthday when there was a big family party, so the family and his caretaker and friend, Marta, are the ones talking with the police and being scrutinized. We then find out, 30 minutes into the film, that Marta accidentally gave Harlan the wrong meds the night of the party, and Harlan devised an elaborate plot to make it look like he committed suicide to protect Marta and her undocumented mother. Marta struggles to avoid detection from the private detective, Benoit Blanc, as he frequently talks with her and trusts her, telling her he suspects foul play. He also learns, with help from Marta, that all the family relatives lied about the night of the party, and at the party, Harlan cut all of them off from his money, for various reasons, overall, wanting them to make something for themselves. We then get to the will reading, where it is found out that Harlan left everything to Marta and nothing to his family. The family quickly turns against Marta, and Ransom helps her drive off to escape them. Ransom manipulates Marta into telling him the truth and offers to help Marta keep this from getting out, in exchange for his cut of the inheritance, when Marta explains that she thinks Blanc is on to her, and she got a blackmail letter with the photocopied header of a toxicology report on Harlan, that would prove her guilt. Ransom and her drive to the lab and see that it is up in flames. Blanc spots them, and Marta drives away, resulting in a car chase where they are caught. Ransom is taken into police custody, and Marta is still presumed innocent. Blanc rides with Marta to go to the station, and she stops on the way to keep her appointment with the blackmailer, leaving Blanc in the car. She discovers Fran, the other housekeeper for Harlan, who is shot up with morphine and near death. Marta calls 911, caring more about Fran’s life than her inheritance. It is then revealed, to the police and Blanc, the true story of what happened with Marta. Marta insists on going back to the house, to tell the family the truth, and renounce the inheritance. When she gets there, she shows Blanc where Fran stashed the toxicology report and then starts to tell the family the truth. Before she can tell them, Blanc, who opens the toxicology report to read in the background, steps in to tell the family that Marta will not be denouncing the inheritance, and shame on them for trying to manipulate her. He leads Marta, who is very confused, away, and with the police officers there, starts explaining. Halfway through his talk, a police officer brings Ransom in. Blanc explains that the toxicology report came up normal. Ransom switched the medical vials, and took away the life-saving antidote, meaning that when Marta switched them, she switched them back. If she would have called the police instead of going along with Harlan’s plan, he would still be alive. Ransom was the one who hired Blanc anonymously, wanting Marta’s “guilt” to be uncovered. Ransom was responsible for Fran being shot up with morphine, for the blackmail letter, the medical building burning, everything. Marta has really committed no crime, while Ransom is guilty of arson and attempted murder. Ransom then grabs a knife and tried to kill Marta, but it turns out to be a prop knife. He is arrested, and the loose ends are all wrapped up. |
| 7. How does the film influence particular reactions on the part of viewers (sound, editing, characterization, camera movement, etc.)? Why does the film encourage such reactions? |
The soundtrack for this film is very dramatic, which creates suspense in a way that invited intrigue and suspense without fear. This suspense is typical of the murder mystery genre and keeps people watching and extremely interested, knowing that everything will be explained and wrapped up (and the killer found) in the end. In certain flashbacks, where are also given different pieces of information visually, storywise, and soundwise. For example, in one flashback, we see Harlan talking with his son, but we do not hear what they are saying, as the family member being questioned at that time did not know what they were saying. We later see the same scene, but we hear what they are saying and continue with those two characters because it’s a flashback from Harlan’s son. The editing is essential, as the sequencing and what is revealed to us when is very important to the film. You can see my blog post on the twist of Knives Out for a deeper dive into this, but the summary is that if the information and clues were given to us in a different order, the twist wouldn’t make as much sense, and would be too hard or too easy to guess. Characterization is also vital to this movie, as it gives us disgust and empathy for certain characters and reasons for what is happening. |
| 8. Is the setting realistic or stylized? What atmosphere does the setting suggest? Do particular objects or settings serve symbolic functions? | The setting is realistic, taking place mostly in a large house, and at other times a realistic-looking world. The atmosphere that is suggested is suspenseful, as this house is big, possibly full of secrets, and it is where the characters, who are suspects, all gather together. Knives in the movie serve a symbolic function.
“Harlan Thrombey : [Talking to his caretaker, Marta Cabrera, about his nephew, Ransom Drysdale] There’s so much of *me* in that kid. Confident. Stupid. I don’t know… protected. Playing life like a game without consequences. [Grabs a knife out of a nearby display stand] Harlan Thrombey : Until you can’t tell the difference [pauses and takes the knife out of its sheath] Harlan Thrombey : between a stage prop… and a real knife. [Stabs the table in front of him with the knife blade; the knife remains upright]” (IMDb) This is the knife that Harlan kills himself with, and later in the movie, Ransom tries to kill Marta with a knife he grabs from Harlan’s collection (shown below) which turns out to be a prop. This turns this symbolic line into a literal one. |
| 9. How are the characters costumed and made-up? What does their clothing or makeup reveal about their social standing, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age? How do costume and makeup convey character? | The Thrombey family is costumed and made up in nicer, rich clothing. It is clear that they have money and are well off. In contrast, Marta wears plainer clothing that reveals she is of a lesser social status. Marta is not white, and she lives with her illegal immigrant mother and her sister in an apartment. Marta is also younger than most of the Thrombey’s, and because of all this they look down on her. The costuming and makeup of the Thrombey family reinforce their wealth, status, and the belief that they are better. |
| 10. How does the lighting design shape our perception of character, space, or mood? | |
| 11. How do camera angles and camera movements shape our view of characters or spaces? What do you see cinematically? | |
| 12. What is the music’s purpose in the film? How does it direct our attention within the image? How does it shape our interpretation of the image? What stands out about the music? | |
| 13. How might industrial, social, and economic factors have influenced the film? Describe how this film influences or connects to a culture? | This film was released around Thanksgiving. Thankgiving is an American tradition where families come together, and it’s mainly looked upon as good, but this provides a different perspective on an arguably objectively horrible and certainly dysfunctional family coming together. This also exhibits class differences, political differences, and how people like the Thrombey’s feel they have a right to wealth. |
| 14. Give an example of what a film critic had to say about this film. Use credible sources and cite sources.Example: “The Shawshank Redemption Movie Review (1994) | Roger Ebert.” All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2015. | |
| 15. Select one scene no longer than 5 minutes that represents well the whole film and shows relevant cinematic elements. Write a one-sentence description of the scene and record the time of the scene.Example: from 1:05:00 to 1:10:00.Explain why you chose this scene. | PLACE THE TIME STAMP FROM THE SCENE HERE… Example: 00:00:00 – 00:05:00 |
| 16. In the selected scene: write a sentence for each of the elements below to justify why this scene best represents the film: | |
| a. Screenwriting: | |
| b. Sound Design: | |
| c. Camera Movements/Angles: | |
| d. Light Setup: | |
| e. Soundtrack/Score: | |
| 18. What’s the socio-cultural context of this film? |
Harlan was also the author of many bestselling mystery books, so he had a great sense of drama, as you could see from things around his house relating to his books, including this collection of knives behind the chair. This is where the family is interviewed, so it serves a symbolic purpose, and as a reminder of Harlan and his work throughout the movie. His daughter says once in the movie that it doesn’t feel real, and it feels like something Harlan would write, or do. She doesn’t know that she is partially correct, as Harlan did commit suicide to protect Marta and her family.This worksheet was developed with ideas from many IB Film teachers, thus should remain in the Creative Commons